Gamer culture: I can't ambi-shoulder-button

Obviously if your right handed, your left shoulder button pressing skillz are not going to be on par with your dominant hand, so there will always be reduced response time when playing a game.

As for the positioning of the shoulder buttons on the PS2, I actually have no problem with them. In fact, I use them all the time when playing GT4. R1=accel R2=shift up L1=brake L2=shift down. I find it A LOT better than using the 'X' button, and don't even get me started about trying to use an analog stick for acceleration. Let's just say that the fact that it moves left and right is very disturbing.

my issues are with holding LS or RS to crouch. it's too akward to manuver while holding the stick down. they should make it a click/down click/up, it seems like an easy enough fix. also I have a problem with my right thumb twitching when I snipe and clicking me out of zoom. I guess these are all Halo2 issues. I'e also recently noticed the same problem playing Prey; I'll be running around shooting and not realize that I've had my lighter on the whole time when it expires.

does anyone else have a spastic thumb?

I can't seem no matter how much i play playstation to remember which is l1 l2 r1 or r2. I know its as simple as left and right but I can't get it down.

Righty here, and minimal difficulties with left shoulder button.

I think that the problem has only really worsened with the advent of analog controls. Your right hand is mashing buttons all the time, usually with a constant pressure. Your goal is usally just hit the button, and hit it quickly. Not much thought about having to be precise. D-pads were somewhat similar, as you just hit the direction.
With the advent of analog control, now we don't just hit one of 8 directions. We have to precisely tilt the stick in exactly the direction of moevement (360 possible) along with the distance we move the stick from center. However, with the L shoulder button, we're still generally just imprecisely hitting the button. Even if it is an analog trigger, most games seem to treat it as a digital input, either pressed or not. I think that that mixing of two control mentalites on one hand makes it difficult, and probably makes our left trigger finger a little slower, as we are controling with the thumbstick in a more precise manner. We don't want to mess up the movement.

That said, in games where L and R shoulder buttons have equal functionality, such as Mario Kart, I tend to ALWAYS use the R button.

I do find it interesting what dual analog control has done to the way we play games. We used to NEVER use our fingers to control games until the SNES introduced the shoulder buttons, and even then, the buttons always had least used functionality attached to them. Now though, our thumbs are used up on just the movements of characters, and practically all of the action commands are controlled with the top 4 shoulder buttons controlled by fingers. Who of thunk it back in the nes days?

That's the only thing I hated about Shadow of the Collosus. I couldn't stand the reliance on shoulder controls, when the game should have let me map my own. It seems more typical of Japanese games like that to map things strangely, and then not let the user decide. As if re-mapping a controller is so hard.

@ #48/Bub.
I just checked, and with Shadow of the Colossus, you could remap all the controls(including the trigger buttons) in the options menu. So no problems there. I'm a leftie, and I NEVER had a problem with that game.

Well I'm left handed but ambidextrous I guess when it comes to other things. Like I write and eat with my left hand but throw and use a mouse with my right hand. So I do pretty good with both. But the analog sticks I'm a little meh at cause Ive always been using my right hand for looking (in an FPS) and using the mouse when it probably should have been in the left hand and I have no dominant hand so I'm not really better with either. Which is bad and good.

I sometimes am far slower when responding to buttons that need to be pushed on the left side. Like Halo, I'm finding my reaction time is dropping off at only 23 years old. I think me playing Halo CE when I was 19 could totally own me today because for what ever reason my response time is down.

Im left handed and i still suck with left trigger buttons.

I'm left-handed. I also have more trouble with left shoulder buttons than right. I think it's got more to do with the loose, quickly-reacting stance you need in order to operate the analogue stick, rather than the firmer gripping you can use when working the buttons on the right side.

I'm left handed, no problem here when it comes to video game controllers, or a keyboard/mouse for PC games. I think the only thing I've had a problem with was the PSP, I get a cramp after playing for an hour or 2. And for some reason, I can't use 2 fingers for the Dualshock 2 shoulder buttons, it feels weird, though sometimes needed as in Metal Gear Online. I think I'm getting used to it.
Also, my fingers are freakishly long (as my girlfriend can tell you ;-) ), like I can reach with my thumb from one side of the PS2 controller to the other when holding it normally.
I'm probably coming off as a Sony fanboy with all this Playstation talk. lol

*...can't use 2 different fingers for one set of shoulder buttons...

I really hate the PS2's controller mainly because of the shoulder buttons. I know many people don't have the same problem, but hitting the L2/R2 (or L1/R1) is so much harder when you're using the buttons with your pointer and middle fingers. It just doesn't feel comfortable to me in any way. And then they put in those stupid joystick buttons. Those would be the most difficult buttons I ever had to press (GameCube's Z button would be a close second). I mean, trying to press the joystick down when I'm trying to move at the same time doesn't work well for me.

And damn you Joystiq for your awesomeness. I kept typing joystiq instead of joystick...

I've always had problems with the whole left side of the 64 controler. I had to use a makopad to play games most of the time.

Bwaahaahaahaa!!!

Well, I prefer my right shoulder button since I'm right-handed. But ever so often, I'll switch it up and give the left shoulder some love (mainly 'cos I don't wanna kill my right shoulder button XD).

No no, I agree with number 4. This is a completely random and rather useless post. Not a /big/ deal or anything but it's just kinda weird. Anyway I still love ya Joystiq.

Omigod! I thought I was the only one! In the Tiger Woods Games on PS2, I always have to awkwardly position my right hand so I can hit L1 for a bigger power boost. My left doesn't do it that well. (Make all the sexual connections you want, but it's true...)

As a left hander, I find it almost impossible to play any game that requires a lot of keyboard keys. 'wasd' does not work for me. It's too uncomfortable and on top of that, it's hard for me to know where keys are. I have to use the arrow keys. I've tried the number pad, and even that is lacking.

Counter-Strike and similar games have always been fine because really, how many keys do you need for action? Jump, crouch. Maybe run. Everything else is handled on the mouse. But on games like WoW that require a bajillion keys.. yeah.. no.. it's just not happening without a lot of hand movement. Definitely not a plus for any long gaming sessions.

The only button/stick that gives me a problem is that damn stick-thing on the PSP. My left thumb aches and aches when I go on road trips.

Perhaps because I am semi-ambidextrous (I'm balanced, foot- and hand-wise, in soccer, hockey, and basketball), it's never been a problem at all.

I find the DS controls for New Super Mario crippling. You have to hold your hand at a ridiculous angle to both hold down X to run and have easy access to A when you need it.

after calibrating the lightning towers in ffx-2, my left shoulder buttons is as good as all the other buttons. has to be, tower 13 is impossible unless you can hit any button in quarter a second.

This is the 21st century, and we STILL can't assign the controls the way we want them!

the right thumb stick on the xbox and playstation controllers, my thumb is freakishly short and thick the other thumb is fine. also i cant bend it as fast or as strong as sometimes needed. :(